A topical review of the use of non-porous and porous inorganic materials as supports for the immobilization of ILs and their catalytic applications is given. The basic principles and the supports that are being used in various concepts emerging from supported ionic liquids (SILs) including supported ionic liquid films (SILFs), supported ionic liquid catalysis/catalysts (SILC/SILCAs), solid catalysts with ILs (SCILs), solid catalysts with IL layer (SCILL), supported IL nanoparticles (SILnPs) and supported ionic liquid phase (SILP) catalysts (SILPC) are first discussed. In addition, we provide a comprehensive review of the SILs concept dealing with inorganic supports, such as layered silicates, porous glass, zeolites, mesoporous (MCM) and PMO (periodic mesoporous organosilica) materials; and their applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.